diggings

American

[dig-ingz, dig-uhnz] / ˈdɪg ɪŋz, ˈdɪg ənz /

noun

(usually used with a singular verb) a place where digging dig is carried on.
(used with a plural verb) a mining operation or locality.
(used with a plural verb) something that is removed from an excavation.
(used with a plural verb) dig.

diggings British

/ ˈdɪɡɪŋz /

plural noun

(functioning as plural) material that has been dug out
(functioning as singular or plural) a place where mining, esp gold mining, has taken place
informal (functioning as plural) a less common name for digs

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of diggings

First recorded in 1530–40; dig ¹ + -ing ¹ + -s ³

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But her family letters from a century ago told of gatherings, as well as grave diggings.

From New York Times • Dec. 9, 2020

High above their diggings in the mining district of Kantishna, three Alaskan prospectors stopped to catch their breath in the thin, subzero air of America’s highest peak.

From The Guardian • Nov. 8, 2018

The proboscis seems to lick or comb sediments for food, perhaps while their bodies remain comfortably ensconced in the safety of their burrow in the center of the diggings.

From Scientific American • Apr. 15, 2013

Founded in Kimberley, where diamond diggings established South Africa’s mining industry, De Beers was named after a nearby farm.

From BusinessWeek • Nov. 4, 2011

While engaged in these diggings, he achieved his first archaeological triumph when he discovered a gold earring that dated back to King Midas’s time.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023